Lime Scooters Now Available For Rent in Baltimore

Lime scooters are now available for rent in Baltimore as 400 were dropped off in the city over Labor Day Weekend, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. Lime is the second dockless, rechargeable, scooter program in Baltimore. It joins Bird which arrived earlier this summer.

Both Lime and Bird are $1 to unlock and $.15 per minute of riding, and both are activated by a mobile app. Riders can locate available scooters and end a riding session using their smartphone. Lime will also be dropping off shareable bikes in the near future.

A Lime user must be 18 years old, have a driver’s license, and wear a helmet. Lime hopes users will “responsibly park” the bikes or scooters near a curb or at a bike rack.

Lime and Bird agreed to a pilot program with Baltimore City Department of Transportation (DOT) last month. Each company must pay the City $15,000 to operate. Both companies are allowed to bring up to 1,000 scooters to Baltimore and Lime can bring an additional 1,000 bicycles. Scooters must also be placed in low income neighborhoods.

“Lime is thrilled to bring dock-free smart mobility options to Baltimore, and we applaud the City for moving quickly on a pilot program that can greatly improve the connectivity in and around the city,” said Maggie Gendron, Lime’s director of strategic development, in a statement. “We hope the fees Lime is paying to the City to participate in the program will help the City move towards more accessible and equitable mobility options, including increased and protected bike lanes.”

“We are confident that this new partnership with Lime will enhance transportation options to a great many more citizens across our city,” Baltimore City Department of Transportation Director Michelle Pourciau said in a statement.

Bird initially started out with 60 scooters before the pilot program agreement with DOT. Many additional Bird scooters were dropped off in recent weeks.

Lime and Bird are a new chapter for Baltimore transportation as Baltimore Bike Share recently ended after less than two years. DOT invested $3.2 million into the program.

Baltimore Bike Share was a partnership between DOT and Québec’s Bewegen Technologies, and was maintained by Baltimore company Corps Logistic. Baltimore Bike Share was plagued by theft and an abundance of bikes in need of repair.

The South Baltimore Peninsula had five Baltimore Bike Share docking stations, four of which replaced on-street parking spaces. Those stations will be removed.

Other stations in South Baltimore included Camden Yards, Baltimore Visitor Center at the Inner Harbor, University of Maryland BioPark, and Hollins Market.

Photos courtesy of the Lime Facebook Page

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.